ข้าวเหนียว

The art of eating and the existence of more than 20,000 types of rice have generated much local wisdom, art and culture that are second nature to the Thai people.

Strains of Thai Glutinous Rice

Niao Khiao Ngu rice (Snake Fang rice)

Sticky rice with slender grains looking like snake fangs is an early rice variety planted in the North, especially in Mae Chan District of Chiang Rai Province. It is said to be preferred for its good quality, softness, fragrance and uf ness, although production is not very high. Because it is soft and fragrant, and glitters once it is steamed, it is commonly used to make desserts, especially to eat with a ripe mango, or roasted in bamboo joints. Niao Khiao Ngu riceKind: White RicePlanting Area: Upper North, esp. Chiang Rai province. Special Feature: Soft, puffy, suitable for making desserts.

A glutinous rice with pretty grains was obtained through a mutation of rice with big yellow grains in 1955 at the San Pa Tong experimental station in Chiang Mai Province after more than seven years of selection. The strain obtained is stable, soft and resistant to diseases and insects, withstands salinity and produces ne grains on all kinds of soil. San Pa Tong sticky rice can be eaten with any kind of food or made into desserts. It is a brown rice that can be cooked like white rice, that is, in a rice cooker. Soft yet sticky, its taste is unique. San Pa Tong riceKind: Glutinous RicePlanting Area: Chiang Mai & Lamphun provinces. Special Feature : Soft but sticky, brown rice that can be cooked as white rice.

This variety is native to the Northeast and is said to have originated in Nakhon Phanom Province. Its very high yield (double or triple the prevalent Kor Khor 6 glutinous rice) is the source of its name. The story is that an old man planted rice; after the harvest he put it in the barn which he had to enlarge and he lled it to the rafters, but after a while, the barn burst. So this strain is thought to be so productive as to burst barns stocking its grain. Another advantage of Lao Taek rice is that it can be planted in almost any soil. Its weed control is good and it needs no fertiliser to produce high yields. Its ear is tall and its grain long and round.It smells good while it cooks. It is slightly sweet and chewy, and remains soft when it is left to cool. It can be softened by steaming in the morning and eaten for dinner as well, and goes well with traditional North-eastern fare such as lap (spicy meat salad), koi (raw-shrimp dish) or somtam (spicy papaya salad). It can also be turned into desserts or else into a drink with high alcohol content – up to 75-80 degrees. Lao Taek riceKind: Glutinous RicePlanting Area: Throughout the northeastern region. Special Feature: Good fragrance, soft, low in sweetness, good for making alcoholic beverage.

This is a strain of glutinous rice that is delicious, its high-yielding seeds are pretty and resistant to disease and insects. Legend has it that its owner was very possessive of it and wouldn’t sell at whatever price, so that those who wanted the seed had to come and exchange (Laek) it with their own grandsons (Laan). This is no longer necessary, though: the strain is now freely traded or shared, and planted mostly in waterfront districts of Loei Province. Laek Laan riceKind: Glutinous RicePlanting Area: Loei province.Special Feature: Beautiful, hard grain, delicious.

If Khao Niao Khiao Ngu (snake fang sticky rice) is the queen of desserts, then big red sticky rice is their king, because when used to make desserts, its softness, fragrance and taste are of the first order.Besides its superlative taste, this kind of sticky rice is resistant to diseases, its panicles grow big and its yield is high. Niao Daeng Yai riceKind: Glutinous RicePlanting Area: North, Northeast, and parts of the centralplains. Special Feature: Excellent for making desserts.

Khao Kam (black rice) is what Northerners call russet-to-black glutinous rice, grown in the eight provinces of the upper part of the North (covering the historic Lanna territory), namely Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Lamphun, Phrae, Nan, Phayao and Mae Hong Son.For Lanna farmers, Khao Kam is the King of rice, able to protect from danger any other rice variety as well. They believe that if a eld has some Khao Kam, it will be free of disease and insect infestation. So they plant such rice at the point where they water the eld or together with plain rice. The fragrance of Khao Kam attracts insects, which then leave white rice alone.This kind of rice also plays an important part in Hindu rituals such as paying respect to the guardian spirit, in which rice of three colours – black, red and white – must be used.For consumers, Khao Kam has tremendous nutritional value, as antioxidant, with a high content of vitamin E, polyphenol and anthocyanin. It can reduce the risk of cancer, and the ancients used it for postpartum bleeding by having the woman eat Kam rice once it was boiled and dried out. For diarrhoea, Khao Kam was soaked for a while in a bamboo container before being cooked.Lanna Kam rice is now registered as geographically indicated (GI). Kam Lanna riceKind: Glutinous RicePlanting Area: Geographically indicated as planted in eight provinces of the upper northern region. Special Feature : Antioxidant, used for diarrhoea and postpartum bleeding.

Khao Luem Phua (literally, ‘forget husband rice’) is black glutinous rice known for its taste, softness, and fragrance. It is soft and sticky when chewed, especially that which sticks at the bottom of the pot and comes off in chunks. Hence its name: “So good I forgot to leave some for my husband!” It is a local variety found in the mountains of the North, Khao Luem Phua is antioxidant, and rich in nutrition, such as Omega-3, 6, & 9, anthocyanin, gamma oryzanol, vitamin E, and good minerals for health. Luem Phua riceKind: Glutinous RicePlanting Area: Highlands of the north.Special Feature: Prevention of dementia, preventing sexual dysfunction in both men and women.